Natural Disaster
by Royal Flush Short A King
Summary: Re-Write of Something Short of Human. She's a natural disaster, she'll tear the land in two. She's running to be running, 'cause it's all she knows to do. DarylOC.
1. Rebel in Her Heart

_**So… I've tried to update Something Short of Human more times than I can count, but the more I try to work on it, the more I dislike it. I don't like my characterization of Daryl or Linzie or really anyone. I don't think I've been doing the show justice. However there has been such an outpouring of reviews and love for it from you guys. So instead of updating, I'm going to completely rework it. Linzie is going to be mostly the same and it's still DarylOC, but I'm going to make it fit better with where I think the show is going.**_

_**Notes: Story and Chapter title/summary is from "Natural Disaster" by the Zac Brown Band.**_

_**One: Rebel in Her Soul**_

_And the rebel in her soul_

_Brought her to me_

"What do you think, Linzie?"

She shrugged, green eyes focused on the data on the screen. "I think we're still losin' too much energy in heat. Maybe if we..." She paused when she heard the chuckling behind her. She straightened and looked at her colleagues over her shoulder, brushing her red hair behind her shoulder. "Wha'?"

They pointed silently at the TV.

_"Government officials have yet to release a statement that can pinpoint a cause or a treatment for the fever sweeping the country. One can only speculate on what this mysterious virus is. We know that this fever has primarily hit large metropolitan areas such as New York City and Los Angeles, both of which have reported deaths in the hundreds. It is fatal within as little as few hours in some cases and is extremely contagious. Citizens are asked to stay home and to avoid contact with infected people."_

"Sounds like swine flu." She shrugged and turned back towards the computer.

Bobby, her research partner, sighed, dark eyes tired, and ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. "With that many deaths, though? Swine flu killed a couple dozen, not a couple hundred."

She chewed on her ball point. "Yeah well.. I just won't go shaking hands with sick people…"

John Adeyemi, her dean, chuckled and mused, West African accent deep and melodic. "Always so pragmatic, Linzie."

She grinned. "With the kiddies away, the professors can play. Just thought I'd get something done. It's not like I have anyone waiting on me anyways."

John spared her a sympathetic glance. "Yes, I know, Linzie. What's your research looking like?"

She threw her pen lightly on her clipboard. "I just don't know, man. Nothing I'm trying seems to be working. It's having little to no effect on the amount of heat radiating out of the is being loss to heat."

"You'll never fully be able to reduce heat."

She rubbed a hand over her face. "I mean I know that… Obviously, I know that, but if I could just find a way to keep as much of it internal as possible..to use it. I'm starting to suspect that I'm going to need to redesign pistons to make any difference."

John nodded, cupping his chin with one dark-skinned hand. "If you could trap that energy and make it useful, you'd solve half a dozen common engine problems; overheating, chief among them. But just normal everyday maintenance; belts, gaskets, spark plugs, you wouldn't have to replace those as often. Maybe we could even make them out of more economical materials. Recyclables, maybe."

She smiled. "If that energy was kept internal, think of the performance upgrade, of fuel efficiency. Even if we just double the amount of energy used, up it to a meager 30%, you'd need less gas for half the distance."

Bobby smiled. "We'll figure it out… eventually."

She huffed. "Eventually… my favorite damn word."

* * *

"Weel… How much longer you think you're gonna stay tonight, Linzie?"

She straightened in her seat and rotated her head, rubbing at her neck. "I think I'm about ready to go… Jus' need to pack up."

Bobby nodded. "Good. I'll walk you to your car, if that's okay?"

She cast a look at him. "Sure, that's fine."

He bobbed his head vaguely and took a look out the window.

"Bobby, what are you so worried about?"

He chuckled weakly and shrugged. "They said that this fever is making people go crazy. That they've been running around killing people. Like they've gone rabid or something."

Linzie arched an eyebrow, swinging her briefcase onto her shoulder. "Yeah, maybe in Los Angeles and New York.. this is Auburn. It's just barely a statistical MSA. Sure as hell ain't no New York or Los Angeles."

"Atlanta's only an hour and a half away…"

The first vestiges of nervousness flitted across Linzie face. "Yeah, but…" She smiled. "I've got a gun in my car. I should be okay."

He smiled back. "Not in your bag?"

"It's illegal to have guns on school property."

"Isn't your car on school property?"

She put a finger over her lips. "I won't tell if you don't."

He shook his head. "You Southerners and your guns."

She shoved him lightly with her elbow. "Someone's gotta keep you Yankees in line."

He smiled faintly and peeked outside again. "Well.. all looks clear. Ready to go?"

She nodded and caught his eyes nervously. "Yeah, let's go."

He squeezed her shoulder. "I'm sure it'll be fine. It's Auburn, right?" He opened the door for her. Closing it behind them, he winked. "You Southerners don't have the market cornered on chivalry."

She shook her head. "I feel like we've had this conversation before."

"Many times over." He locked up and they looked out over the empty green space, past the construction zone next to their building, finally settling on the parking lot.

Huffing, she smirked and rifled through her briefcase for her cigarettes and lighter. "We're bein' silly. It's still Auburn. I mean we can see our cars, for fuck's sake." She pulled a cigarette between her lips and lit it. Blowing out a smoke ring, she sighed and threw away the now empty pack. "300 yards.. Maybe."

He nodded, nose wrinkling at the smell of her cigarette. "Though to be fair, we can see our cars because we're the last people on campus. That's still quite the jaunt."

Straightening her spine and squaring her shoulder, Linzie adjusted her bag on her shoulder and took a deep breath. "Well… I'm going home. You can stay here if you want. I'm sure there's a hammock you can sleep in somewhere."

He smiled ruefully. "Okay. Let's go."

They started out, chit-chatting lightly like they weren't the least bit on edge. About half way across the green space, they fell silent, jumping at every skittering squirrel and rustling tree. They spared each other a small tense smile and pushed on. A couple yards closer to their vehicles, there was a heavy shuffling, too loud to be one of the small animals that lived on campus.

They both looked up, eyes nervously sweeping the construction zone that sat between Lowder Hall and their offices in Shelby Hall. Something metal clattered and they jumped, eyes swiveling to scan the green construction fence.

Bobby's large hand cupped her lower back and she stepped a little too deliberately out of his reach, stubbing out her cigarette with her loafer. Bobby took it in stride and stepped a little in front of her, moving to block her from whatever was in the construction zone.

Something shuffled noisily behind the fence and Bobby swallowed dryly. "Anyone there?"

There was a gurgling moan from behind the fence and they both paled. Linzie gripped his elbow and pulled him toward the cars gently.

He grinned at her over his shoulder. "Scared?"

She glared and released him. "If you're thinking about seeing what's back there, don't."

Bobby frowned. "They could be hurt."

"Or sick." She motioned towards the car. "Leastways, let me get my gun... Just in case."

"You don't need a gun for sick people."

"You're the one that said the fever was making people go crazy," She huffed, "That they were killing people."

"That doesn't mean we can kill them."

She rolled her eyes. "It does if they attack us. Jus' want to be prepared, is all. I want to make it home tonight. In one piece preferably."

He sighed and nodded. "Fine. We'll go get your gun and then come back. Hope they don't die in the meantime."

She scoffed. "If they die that quickly, there wasn't much we could've done anyways."

He glared at her again and moved to follow her towards the cars. As they rounded the corner, making toward the entrance of the construction site, Linzie put out a hand.

"What?"

She shushed him and peered into the construction. Inside, ambling among the parked equipment and work trucks, was a man dressed in a dirty maintenance uniform.

"Isn't that Edwin Brown?"

"The head of maintenance?" Linzie considered that. "Looks that way…"

"Hey! Edwin!" Bobby rushed out from behind her, waving his arms.

Linzie cussed. "You dumbass! Jus' 'cause you know them doesn't mean they can't get sick and go nuts like the rest of the goddamn world."

Bobby glared back at her. "He could need help."

She rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath as she followed him. "How the hell did we lose the fuckin' Civil War? No basic survival skills." She shoved her hands in her pockets and fingered the small pocket knife she kept there. "Mr. Brown? Are you okay, buddy?"

As she moved closer, the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach intensified. Edwin Brown was quite possibly the cheeriest person she had ever met, all bright smiles and jovial 'War Eagle's. Hell, he'd been known to coax a smile or two out of some of the grumpiest people she had ever met, chiefly her. The person shuffling around in front of them, could not be farther from Edwin Brown.

All the same, Bobby walked further into the construction zone, showing only the slightest amount of hesitation as she trailed reluctantly on his heels. "Edwin, man… Am I glad to see you!"

Edwin looked up suddenly, as if he hadn't heard all the noise Bobby had already been making. He sniffed at the air and Linzie reached out to grab Bobby's arm. "Stop. What the hell is he doing?"

Bobby paused and rolled his eyes, trying to move forward. She kept a firm grip on his arm, forcing him to stay where he was. "What?"

She nodded at Edwin. "Something isn't right. That's not how Edwin normally acts."

Edwin turned toward them, the other side of his neck painted a gory red, flesh dangling in battered ribbons. Linzie felt the bile rise in the back of her throat as Bobby recoiled with a hoarse shout. "What the fuck!"

She staggered back a couple steps as Edwin gurgled and moved forward.

"We need to go!"

Bobby was taking out his cell phone. "We _need _to call an ambulance."

"Are you stupid? People can't live with their throats torn out! Something unnatural is going on and we need to leave!" She tugged on his sleeve.

"Stop it, Linzie!"

"Hell no! I'm not dying here and I'm not letting you die here because of your fuckin' bleeding heart! Let's go!"

Edwin snarled and made another move towards them. She turned to leave, eyes wide, and pulled her knife from her pocket, flicking it open. Bobby scrambled away from Edwin, cell phone pressed to his ear. "They aren't picking up!"

"Who?"

"911!"

"Oh well, you tried. Let's go!"

Bobby slid his phone back into and nodded dumbly as Edwin snarled again and staggered a few feet closer to them, still a good five yards away from them. She grabbed his arm and pulled him roughly towards the entrance. Once out, she grabbed the gate and swung it closed, dropping the latch. They stepped away from the gate as Edwin reached it, pressing mindlessly against it.

"Why doesn't he try to open it?"

Linzie shrugged. "Look at his eyes."

Bobby glanced at her. "What?"

She smirked weakly. "Wouldn't expect a Yankee like you to know, but that's what dead eyes look like. Clouded over and shit. He smells dead too."

"H-how is he still on his feet?"

"I don't know… what I do know is that _we_ need to go. _Now._"

He nodded and they turned toward the cars, still a solid hundred yards away. Linzie took a deep breath. "Let's go. Quickly this time. No stopping."

They started towards the car again, Edwin rustling the gate of the construction site behind them.

About halfway across the parking lot, they spotted another shuffling figure this one a bare ten yards from her jeep. She held a finger to her lips and motioned towards the far side of her jeep. He nodded and they moved slowly toward the cars, as silent as possible.

Linzie pulled her keys from her pocket as she walked, wrapping her hand around everything on the keyring to keep them from jingling, the other hand still wrapped around her knife. Bobby, panting nervously behind her, started digging around in his pockets noisily.

She turned toward him and shushed him at the exact moment his cell phone clattered loudly from his pocket. She looked back at the ambling man now looking right at them with the same dead eyes. She cussed and the dead thing growled, staggering at them.

"Run."

"Linzie..."

"Run now!" She took off across the parking lot, her briefcase hitting her side with regular, solid thumps. She heard another clattering sound and turned to see Bobby doubling back to pick a set of keys off the ground, the man slowly closing the distance between them, one ankle bent at a painful angle.

Cussing again, she screeched. "Run, you damn fool! Leave 'em!"

The snarling man's ankle suddenly gave out, sending him sprawling. Instead of screaming out in pain like a normal person, the man kept going, half crawling, half dragging himself toward Bobby who had lost his balance and sat slumped on the pavement.

Bobby crab walked backwards, staring at the man with wide eyes as he steadily advanced.

Sparing a quick glance around to make sure there weren't anymore lumbering, dead-eyed people, Linzie cussed and sprinted towards Bobby, swinging her briefcase down on the crawling man's head with an audible crunch. Not stopping to see if that made any difference, she grabbed Bobby's arm and hauled him to his feet. "Let's go, Jackass! You're comin' with me!"

Bobby followed after her, glancing back at the now immobile man. "You killed him…"

She grunted. "Maybe.. but if I hadn't you would've ended up just like Edwin. Now run."

They made it to the car, Linzie looking briefly in the back to make sure nothing had gotten in. She unlocked it and hopped in, starting it up and closing the door just as a small group of stumbling people, most in construction hats, rounded a corner between Lowder and Shelby.

Bobby gasped and she cast a look at him. "We're gonna stop by my place and get my junk and my dog and then we're gonna stop at your place and get your stuff."

"Where are we going?"

"One step at a time." She threw the jeep into 1st gear and squealed out of the parking lot. "Can't stay here though."

* * *

_I'm gone. Take what you want._

Linzie pulled into the gas station and pulled her short barrel from the center console. "I need cigarettes…" She pulled her credit card and handed it to Bobby, Cooper, her bloodhound, snuffling at her hand. "See if you can get gas."

He nodded. "Pump looks like its still on."

She stepped out of the jeep and walked around the jeep, holding a double-barrel shotgun out to him. "Keep a look out, kay?"

Wrapping a nervous hand around the butt of the gun, he closed the door behind him and peered at the gas station store. "You sure you want to go in there by yourself?"

She nodded. "It'll be okay."

He sighed and nodded.

She the hammer back on the pistol and moved slowly toward the shop, checking all the windows for movement indoors. She pulled the door open and tapped the glass with the barrel of her revolver. When she got no response, she moved into the abandoned gas station and surveyed its meager offerings. "Anyone here?"

Closing the door, she looked at the cigarette display behind the counter and breathed a sigh of relief. The previous round of looters apparently hadn't been smokers. Taking everything but the menthols, she set them on the counter and moved around the rest of the store, taking everything that looked useful.

Bagging her haul up, she opened a pack and pulled a cigarette between her lips. She smiled around the cigarette and picked up the bags. She pushed out of the gas station, worrying her cigarette happily. As the door closed behind her, she looked up, biting back a curse.

Bobby stood by the jeep, hands in the air, two men holding weapons standing in front of him. Instead of immediately dropping the bags and running for the jeep, she carried the bags toward the jeep and set them by the liftgate.

One of them, obviously the younger man's father, snarled "What the hell are you doing, lady?"

Opening the liftgate, she set the stuff in the back and went around to the driver's door.

"I said what the hell are you doing, bitch?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him and smiled. "Bobby, get in the car."

Bobby looked panicked. "They said they-"

"They ain't gonna do shit. They would've already done it. Get in the car."

Bobby cast the two a look and the nodded, running for the passenger door, moving the double barrel he should have been holding off of the chair so he could climb in. The man closest to her cussed and made for her window, stopping only when his forehead pressed against the barrel of her snub nose.

She smiled. "Bye, boys."

Her tires threw up smoke as she squealed from the parking lot. Once they were clear, she set the snub nose in the center console and made for 85, lighting her new cigarette with a pleased smile.

Bobby still looked shaken as he stared at her across the car.

Cooper whined and laid his big, slobbery head in the crook of her shoulder. She cooed at him and scratched behind his ears. "Get scared, did ya?"

Bobby nodded. "Yes, scared is a good descriptive word for what I was feeling."

Linzie snorted. "If they were gonna shoot you they would have already done it."

Bobby puffed up like a balloon, angry for anger's sake. "And how exactly did you know that? Please tell me that you didn't just gamble my life on a hunch."

She shook her head. "They waited until I went inside and you got distracted doing something to walk up on ya. They were trying to force you to give up without a fight."

Bobby rolled his eyes. "How did you know that the wouldn't shoot us as we left?"

She grinned. "Their guns were dusty. Haven't fired them or even cleaned them recently. Out of practice. Couldn't hit us if they tried... most likely."

"Most likely?" Bobby glared at her. "And how could you have seen that their guns were dirty as you walked up _behind them_?"

"I didn't, not until I got in the car."

"We could've been killed."

She nodded. "Coulda, but weren't. I've known guys like that all my life. They are petty criminals, B&E, drug use, that kinda shit. They are cowards fundamentally, sure ain't murderers. Coulda taken them if I needed to." She shrugged.

Bobby sighed deeply. "How can you be so…"

"So…? So what?" She dragged deeply on her cigarette and ashed it out the window, hackles rising. _Here it comes… Surprised it took all night._

"Callous. So detached? The world is apparently ending and you've just been shrugging it off." He grunted. "I've known you for two years now and I thought you were-"

"Like you?" She glared at the road. "You thought I was some intellectual, some civilized trophy wife in the making? You thought you could rub the rough edges off; get me to stop smoking, stop hunting, stop cussing. That you could clean me up and present me to society as your pretty little wife. Is that what you thought? Did you think that I would _thank_ you? That I'd blush and demure and let you take over?"

"N-no.. Linzie I never thought that…"

She spared him a hard glance as he blushed. "Oh... I _know _what you thought...I'm not stupid or ignorant or blind. I knew what you wanted and I was willing to ignore it as long as you didn't mention it. You were a good research partner, you were nice enough and smart. I _enjoyed_ working with you, but I had no intention of dating you. I would've said no if you had ever asked."

He looked out the window. "Why?"

She sighed and took another deep drag on her cigarette. "Because I know that you don't know me. And I doubt that you would've stuck around if you did."

* * *

"Mind if I bum a smoke fer me and m'brother?"

Linzie looked up, one hand on her pistol, and shook her head, passing the man her cigarettes and a lighter.

The man watched her quietly with clear blue eyes and pulled a pair of cigarettes free. Lighting them both, he handed one to the older man standing next to him and handed the cigarettes and lighter back to Linzie. The older man grinned widely and winked at her.

"How ya doin' tonight, Sugartits?"

She cast him an irritated glance and set her hand on Cooper's wide head. She pulled her cigarette from her lips and blew out a steady stream of smoke. "Haven't died today, so I suppose it ain't too bad, Honey-balls."

The man exploded with laughter. "My kinda woman! Merle Dixon, this is m'brother Daryl." He stuck his meaty hand out, blue eyes twinkling.

She arched an eyebrow and grasped his hand with a firm shake then grasped Daryl's. "Linzie Lawrence."

"Whatcha doin' out here, pretty lady?"

"We're trying to get to the refugee centers in Atlanta."

"Aren't we all." Merle sucked deep on his cigarette. "Who's we?"

She smirked and motioned at Bobby, who was standing with some small town Georgia cop they had met an hour or so ago.

"Husband?" Daryl settled himself next to her in the cargo area of her jeep, puffing away at his cigarette.

She moved closer to Cooper, making room so Merle could sit too, and snorted. "Colleague."

"Where you folks from?"

"From? We drove here from Auburn. He's a Yankee, from Boston; I'm from Vernon, AL."

Merle laughed. "Auburn? Whatcha do there?"

"We're professors."

The Dixon brothers drew back as if surprised. "What?"

She smirked. "We teach. Are you surprised?"

Daryl shrugged. "What d'ya teach?"

She chuckled. "Mechanical Engineering. I teach Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics, he teaches Computer Aided Engineering and Statics and Dynamics."

Merle laughed. "Sounds like a whole bunch of gibberish."

She shrugged. "Where you two from?"

"Originally? Centralhatchee."

"Really? I've got kin down there." Linzie smiled. "Do you know Jeremiah Lawrence?"

Daryl groaned and smirked. "Boomer Lawrence? Coulda guessed you were kin to that jackass Boomer Lawrence."

She nodded. "You know how he is?"

Merle shook his head. "Ain't been in Centralhatchee for a coupla months."

She nodded. "What do y'all do?"

Merle smiled cryptically. "This an' that."

She shook her head. "Yeah, okay?"

"Linzie!"

She groaned and looked up at Bobby, who was jogging lightly toward them with a mullish frown, the cop and his lady friend approaching more slowly. "Who're your new friends?"

She huffed and stared, nonplussed at him. "Bobby, these are Daryl and Merle Dixon. Dixons, this is Bobby Provenzano."

Bobby held his hand out to shake and Daryl and Merle just stared at him dully. Merle arched an eyebrow. "You a wop?"

Bobby's face colored and Linzie rolled her eyes. "Let's remain civil… I ain't got the patience today."

Merle's eyebrow drew down deep over his eyes. "What ya say?"

"I said: shut up. You start a fight with Bobby, I'll have to step in and I ain't in the mood. I may shoot first, ask questions later. Don't be a dick."

Merle stared her down and sighing she pulled her snub nose from her waistband and checked the chamber.

Grinning, Merle backed down. "No harm meant, but damn I like you, baby."

Linzie rolled her eyes again and sucked on her cigarette. "Whatever."

_**Remember to review!**_


	2. The Great Divide

_**YAY! You guys are awesome and I'm so glad that some of my older readers are back and that y'all are liking this little reboot so far. I've gotten a couple of comments on Bobby and I'm super excited because y'all don't even know what I've got planned for that guy!**_

_**Two: The Great Divide**_

_The river was cold_

_And the river was wide_

_She flowed from the mountain_

_Straight across the great divide_

"This is Linzie Lawrence and Merle and Daryl Dixon. Y'all, this is Amy and Andrea." There was a sour look on Shane's face, like he was offended that he had been chosen as the grand delegate of a raggedy pack of survivors that included them. "They are hunters, though as of yet, we've seen nothing but squirrel."

The younger blonds blanched. "Squirrel?"

Linzie rolled her eyes, skinning a squirrel with quick efficient movements. "Better than nothing."

Daryl shot Shane a dirty look, skinning another of his catch. "We're still too close to the city fer deer. Might git better eventually."

Merle shook his head, fiddling with his knife. "We'll git one or two ever' so often, but the city's just as dangerous fer deer as it's always been."

Linzie nodded and smiled at the girls. "Squirrel'll hafta do. Nice ta meet ya." She ran the blade of her hunting knife under the skin of the squirrel and gave a violent tug.

The girls shared a look of disgust and followed a glowering Shane away.

"Uppity bitches, the both of 'em."

Linzie chuckled and cast a glance at Merle. "Just spoiled sorority girl types. Ain't used to this, is all. They'll grow out of it." She cut a line of connective tissue and stripped the last bit of skin and fur off of the squirrel. "Never did get along with 'em, though. Won't be pleasant."

Merle chuckled. "I still find it hard to believe that you're a college educated women, Sweet Cheeks."

Linzie shrugged. "Believe it. I spent eight years getting educated."

"Eight years! Whoo-ee. What the fuck for?"

Linzie laughed. "Granted doesn't make much difference now, but I found out real quick that I didn't want to do field or plant work. I wanted to teach. In order to teach engineering, you need a master's degree. Got my master's an' figured might as well get my doctorate, makes it easier to get a university job at any rate."

"Dr. Lawrence! My, ain't she high-and-mighty, brother?"

Daryl snorted. "And how much did daddy pay for all this, I wonder?"

Linzie shot him a look and reached for another squirrel. "Nothing. My daddy died when I was high school. Side's wouldn't have been able to pay much, he was a mechanic. No… I got a scholarship for my bachelor's and had a mix of financial aid and loans for my master's and doctorate. Worked at a body shop in Opelika for spending money." She grinned. "Least I'm not in debt anymore." She winked.

Merle snickered.

Daryl and Linzie finished off the last of the squirrels quickly and Linzie gathered them up, taking them across camp to the women preparing dinner. Cooper followed her, tail going a mile a minute, begging for scraps. Daryl whistled shrilly from his tent and waved a piece of squirrel meat. Cooper went running and Linzie chuckled.

One, a pretty black lady, Jackie if she remembered correctly, looked up and shot her a wary look. "What do you want?"

Linzie stopped short and held her hands up, lines of squirrels dangling from her open palms. "Meat for dinner. If you want…"

She looked vaguely guilty and took the squirrel from Linzie, offering a reluctant, "Thank you."

Linzie nodded. "Jus' make sure you cook them all the way before you stew them."

She nodded and Linzie walked away, shaking her head slightly as she made her way across camp.

"Linzie!"

Sighing, Linzie turned toward Bobby, who was approaching from where he had set up his tent. "What's up? You need help with something?"

Bobby frowned, hurt in his dark eyes. "No, thank you. I think I've got everything." He paused and wrung his hands. "I wanted to a… to apologise. I was unnecessarily harsh to you.. when we… when we were ah-"

"I know what you're talking about."

He bobbed his head. "Sorry. I just wasn't prepared for all that happened. You were and you saved my life multiple times and I just wanted to apologize."

She nodded. "Apology accepted. No worries." She nodded and moved to leave, stopping when Bobby wrapped a hand around her bicep.

"Can I ask you a question?"

She huffed and turned back. "Yeah, sure. I've got stuff to do, but it can hold."

"Why… I'm mean… those two guys, they look like bad news."

"Daryl and Merle?" She made a face and shook her head. "Bad news? Nah… Jus' different. Different like me, matter of fact."

He frowned. "They aren't like you, Linzie. You're-"

"This again." Linzie smirked. "Look, I can play nice when I need to, I can be professional at work and be sociable and all that when I need to. But you gotta realize that jus' 'cause someone ain't you proximation of a good and decent person, doesn't mean they aren't."

He huffed. "I'm not trying to be rude-"

"No, you _are_ rude. You _are_ judgmental. You are also being divisive and in a time like this, we can't afford that." She turned away.

"Do you have to set your tent so close to theirs?"

She stopped again. "That's the best spot. Shade in the morning, sun in the evening. Nothin' gonna shit on the tent. They jus' happen to know that, too."

She strode the rest of the way across camp, not catching anyone's eyes and stomped over to her tent.

"Problem, Sweetness?"

She sighed, halfway in her tent. "Look, Merle. Let's be clear. I am not your Baby, your Sweetness, your Sugartits or your Sweet Cheeks. Show me some respect and call me by my name."

"What crawled up your ass?"

She grabbed her bathing stuff. "Nothing jus' tired of holdin' my tongue."

Daryl ducked his head, like he was expecting Merle to blow up. "Where you goin'?"

"To bathe."

Merle grinned. "You want company?"

She paused and grabbed her pistol of the cooler by her camp chair. Checking the chamber, she shook her head. "Nah, I think I'm good."

"Holler, if ya change ya mind!"

"I won't!"

* * *

"She flirts with them."

"Those two are trouble… Did she come in with them?"

"No… I think she drove in with the guy from up north… Bobby."

Linzie took one last drag on her cigarette and stubbed it out on the rock she was sitting on, deliberately knocking a few rocks off the outcropping she was perched on. They clattered to the ground below a spare foot from the gossiping women. They jumped, looking up at her. She gave them a jaunty little wave and walked down off the outcropping.

They stared at her as she walked past, red in the face and mortified they had been caught.

Linzie stopping to watch a car come up the quarry road. A young Asian man got out, shaken and wide-eyed, followed by a Hispanic family of four. They locked eyes with her and smiled. "Is it safe here?"

She nodded and shrugged. "'Bout as safe as possible nowadays. Ain't seen any walkers, leastways."

They nodded and the Asian man smiled broadly. "Can we… Can we stay?"

Linzie smiled and nodded. "Yeah, we got room." She turned over her shoulder. "Shane!" Shane looked up and she jerked her chin at the new-comers. He put down the gun he was cleaning and strode across camp. Linzie cast a quick look around and pointed at a clear spot away from the trees. "Mosta the good camp spaces are gone. I'd put your tents there, a couple feet from the trees."

"Away from the trees?"

Linzie nodded as Shane walked up behind her. "Keep 'em out of the way of the squirrels and the birds. That way they can't...poop on the tent."

The kids made faces and she mimicked them. "Gross right." She held her hand out to the woman. "Linzie Lawrence."

She grasped her hand briefly. "Miranda Morales. This is my husband and our children, Louis and Eliza."

Linzie nodded and held her hand out to the young man.

"Glenn."

Linzie smiled and reached out to ruffled the two kids' hair. "I let Shane take it from here. He's kinda the unofficial boss 'round here."

Shane eyed her and nodded stiffly. "Hey y'all."

Linzie walked away and made towards her tent.

"You a fan of those taco-benders and chings?"

She rolled her eyes. "Merle, do you have any empirical evidence that white people are any better than any other race?"

His brows drew down over his eyes. "Wha'?"

She smiled. "I'm an engineer. I don't take things on faith. I need evidence. Do you have any? Can you prove that you are better than they are?" She started rifling through her tent. "If you, I'll jump right on the bandwagon with you. If not…" She held her hands out.

Merle went red. "They come into this country and take-"

She shrugged. "Does that really matter now? Does it really matter that they were taking jobs Americans didn't want?" Merle's mouth worked noiselessly and Linzie smiled. "Whatever was true before, I'm not sure it really matters anymore. I can't imagine Asian or Hispanic people taste any better or worse than white meat. What matters now is what you can contribute, what you're skilled at. We don't have the luxury of prejudice anymore. Sorry."

She pulled a laundry basket out of her tent and set it on her camp chair and grabbed a bottle of detergent. She stood straight and looked down at the Dixons, who were still staring at her a little bewildered. "Look, we all got a right to our opinions and I won't judge you none for them, ain't like I'm exactly surprised. I'm from backwoods Alabama, after all. But these days, it don't help ya done to stick in the mud that way." She sighed and pulled a face. "I'm sure I live to regret this, but y'all have clothes need washin'? I'm about to do mine."

Merle smirked. "You gonna do my laundry, like m'pretty little wife?"

Linzie chuckled. "Nope, not anymore. I'll do Daryl's cause he can keep his mouth shut, but you're on your own."

Daryl smirked at Merle. "I'll git the laundry for ya."

Linzie nodded and held out the basket. Daryl chuckled as he dropped the laundry in basket. "Off ya go, Ladybird."

She made a face. "Ladybird?"

Daryl colored faintly. "Better than Sugartits, right? Now off wit' ya."

She shook her head and picked up the detergent with her free hand. "Whatever."

She whistled and Cooper moved to her side. Casting one last look at the Dixons with a rueful smile, she marched off.

Halfway across the yard, the tall brunette's son, Carl, stopped her. "Ms. Lawrence?"

She smiled, Cooper moving to sit placidly at her feet. "Linzie's fine, kid. What's up?"

He shied away from her, his eyes on Cooper. "Can I play with your dog, Ms. Linzie?"

Linzie winced. "Uh… I'm not sure your mom is going to be okay with that, bud…"

"Why?" He paused for a bare second. "Does he not like kids?"

She set the laundry detergent down and rubbed a hand over Cooper's head, encouraging him to do so as well. Cooper sniffed excitedly at the boy's outstretched hand, his tail thumping against her leg. "He loves kids… I just think it's better to ask your mom first."

He nodded. "She's down at the pond doing laundry. You were going down there anyways, right? Can I ask her then?"

Linzie smiled and nodded. "Yeah, let's do that."

He smiled broadly and held out his hand. When she hesitated, he sent her a winning smile. "My mom says I have to hold an adults hand when I go down to pond, in case I slip."

She nodded, picking the detergent up and setting it in her basket, and held out her hand. "'Kay, then."

They walked down to the quarry, Carl chattering away, one hand idly petting Cooper's head, and Linzie, silently anxious.

As they neared the pond, the women doing laundry there, all but leapt to their feet. Linzie bit back the 'I told you so' on the tip of her tongue and chewed on her lip as Lori looked her up and down.

"C-Carl… what are you doing down here, baby?"

Carl smiled broadly and told Cooper to sit, giggling happily when the big dog did. "I wanted to play with Cooper, but Ms. Linzie though I should ask you first." Lori nodded and approached her son as Linzie moved to set her hamper on the shore, many feet away from the other women. "So can I?"

Lori sighed. "Honey, Cooper is a hunting dog... Sometimes, hunting dogs don't like kids."

Carl shook his head. "Ms. Linzie said that Cooper loves kids."

Lori turned to her with a slightly suspicious frown. "Ms. Linzie, is this alright with you?"

Linzie shrugged and nodded. "Cooper's well-trained. You don't have to worry about him bitin' Carl or anything like that. Worse that can happen is Carl gets to chasin' him around and Cooper accidentally knocks him over." Linzie sighed. "However, you still uncomfortable with it, I can walk Carl back up to camp."

Lori swallowed and turned to Carl. "You're gonna play with him down here, where me and Ms. Linzie can watch okay?"

Carl nodded and whistled callin' Cooper over. They set to playing and Linzie perched on a rock and started laundry.

The acoustics across the lake were great, so as she scrubbed a particularly stubborn sweat stain out of one of her daddy's old flannels, she listened to what the other women were saying.

"She took her uppity self and sat her ass twenty feet away. Not our problem."

"Uppity? I don't think she's uppity, necessarily. Quiet more like."

"Then why did she sit so far away? Do we have cooties or something?"

The was a short giggle. "Tolerance cooties. She might catch it."

That made Linzie laugh in a sudden crack as she attacked a blood stain on one of Daryl's shirts. "Don't sound so tolerant to me!"

Andrea stood. "What?"

Dropping the clean shirt in her hamper and grabbing the next one, she sucked on her lip and didn't look up. "I said 'Don't sound so tolerant to me.'"

Andrea huffed and turned away.

Ignoring the suddenly quiet women, Linzie rocketed through the rest of her laundry and gathered up her supplies and the little packet of coke she had found in a certain someone's shirt pocket. Pausing at the foot of the path, she turned to the staring women. "If you have a problem with me, if I've done something, anything, to offend you, take it up with me. You know where my tent is."

She started up the path and turned to look at Carl, smiling softly, she called down to him, "Hey, buddy. You keep an eye on Cooper, for me? Bring him up when your mom's done with laundry, 'kay?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Yep. Can Sophia and Louis and Eliza play with him, too?

She nodded. "If their moms are okay with it."

"Yes, ma'am."

She started back up to camp and ran into Daryl on the way up.

"Didn't take ya too long."

She shook her head. "Didn't linger and gossip with the Southern Housewife Committee." He snorted and motioned for the basket. She passed it over and lit a couple of cigarettes, passing one over to Daryl. "What did ya need?"

"Me an' Merle are goin' huntin'." Daryl huffed. "He wanted ta know if ya found-"

"This?" She passed the coke over.

Daryl shook his head and took the coke from her. "He needs to quit this shit. Gonna git us killed." He looked up, caught Shane's eyes on him and shoved the coke in his pocket.

She chuckled and spoke loud enough for Shane to hear, "What is Officer Do-Good gonna do? Lock you up?" She smiled blithely at Shane and continued on past, Daryl following in her wake.

"Ms. Lawrence."

She turned back and looked at Shane. "If you want to be formal, you can call me Dr. Lawrence, seeing as I spent so much time getting that degree." Daryl snorted.

Shane chuckled sarcastically. "Can I talk to you?"

"Yep."

"We can't have drugs floatin' around camp." He held his hand out.

"They aren't. Far as I know, Merle's the only one doin' drugs-" Shane snorted and Linzie glared at him. "-Merle is the only one doin' drugs, _far as I know_." She turned to Daryl, who bobbed his head. "Don't assume, jackass. Now as far as Merle's drugs, they are Merle's drugs. Long as he don't get me killed, I don't care what he does. If you have a problem with it, you talk to him."

With that, she put a hand on Daryl's shoulder and walked away.

Daryl shook his head and passed her the basket as they neared their tents and the clothes line strung in front of it.


	3. Storm Clouds in Sight

_**Yay! Chapter Three! I love all of my reviewers, y'all make me so happy. Make sure you leave a review telling me how you feel about this or that... Be honest and be descriptive. I like knowing what y'all think.**_

_**Three: Storm Clouds in Sight**_

_Might not be storm clouds in sight_

_Oh but don't you worry friend_

Linzie tied a piece of twine around the stalks of wild plants and hefted them, shaking the dirt of the roots lightly, over her shoulder.

Whistling, she called for Cooper and smiled down at the big, red bloodhound. She set her hand on his head and whistled as she walked the few yards back into camp. She strode right up to the 'kitchen' and set the bundled greens on an empty camp chair, grabbed a bucket and went to the quarry for water, ignoring the women sitting around the fire.

"What are these for?"

Linzie turned over her shoulder and smiled. "Dinner." She held up the bucket and wiggled it at Andrea. "Gotta wash them first."

She hauled the water pail over and took a seat on a cooler and untied the bundle as the women gathered around her.

Amy made a face. "What are they?"

Linzie dropped a couple stalks in the bucket and set to cleaning all the dirt off the roots. "Chicory, burdock, wild asparagus and dandelion greens."

Jackie huffed. "Are they edible?"

Linzie chuckled. "No they're all poisonous." She winked. "Thought I'd do us all in, all koolaid like."

Jackie sucked on her teeth and glared at her while Lori stepped up. "Do you need help?"

"With what?"

"Cleaning? Preparing them?"

Linzie cast Lori a look and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess." She motioned at the remaining roots. "We need to clean the dirt off the roots. The chicory root we can wrap up in some tinfoil and bury under the coals so it'll bake, we'll make chicory coffee in the morning."

"Like in New Orleans?"

"Sorta. The leaves of the chicory and the dandelion greens will make a half-decent salad. The burdock leaves and steam and the asparagus we'll boil once, throw out the water and then boil again with the squirrel Merle and Daryl got this morning."

"Okay, so…"

Linzie chuckled. "Chop the roots of the chicory off of the rest of the plat and then chop it up. Peel the leaves off of the chicory and the dandelion greens and set them aside. Do the same for the Burdock leaves. Then peel and chop the stem."

The women nodded.

Linzie shook her head and set to washing her bundle of weeds.

"See, there!" Andrea pointed a flopping stem of chicory at Linzie. "That's what I mean! You are so damn snotty. Turning your nose up at the lot of us like all you needed was the damn apocalypse to prove that you are better than us."

Lori shook her head. "Andrea, don't."

Carol looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Look at all this food gotten us."

Linzie laughed. "Let her talk, she's been itchin' to. Don't matter none anyway."

Andrea's face darkened. "You bitch!"

"Are you that damn used to people heeding your every fuckin' word?" Linzie wiped her knife on a clean towel. "You want to know why I'm 'snotty'? Must have something to do with how fuckin' hospitable and friendly you've been since gettin' here."

"Excuse you?"

"You heard me, bitch. You've looked down your perfect little nose at me since you stepped foot in camp. Treatin' me like the scum on your boots and you have the gall to call me 'snotty'. Maybe you should check your own damn attitude."

Daryl walked up behind her, eyes on Andrea. "Problem, Ladybird?"

Linzie chuckled. "Nothin' I can't handle, Daryl. Thanks."

He nodded once and handed her a line of squirrels. She smiled, took them and began laying them out on the makeshift griddle in the fire to cook.

"Are you fucking him or the older one?"

Linzie shrugged. "None ya business who I'm fuckin'."

Andrea snorted. "I mean, you have to be having sex with them."

"Why is that?" Linzie settled back on her cooler and set to working on peeling burdock.

"You do their laundry, set your tent up next to theirs. I think I know what's going on. You realize that with the world ending you needed to find yourself a suitable mate to ensure your survival."

"What am I? An animal?" Laughing, Linzie leaned back. "Take a look around, Sweetheart. Does it look like _I _need help? Are you jealous or are you just angry that all your fancy training and schooling don't amount for shit?"

"At least I got a degree, two in fact." Andrea looked smug. "That has to count for something when the world comes back."

Linzie shot the look right back. "Congrats. I have three. Still don't matter for shit right now."

Lori's eyes widened and Andrea chuckled. "Three Associates? Three degrees from some podunk two-year technical."

"I have a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering, bitch. I was a professor at a major accredited university. What did you do, blondie?"

Andrea straightened her spine. "I was a civil rights attorney."

Linzie nodded, chuckling and then called over her shoulder. "Merle, you owe me a pack of cigarettes! Blondie's a lawyer!"

Merle cussed and Daryl laughed. Smiling, Linzie threw the leaves and stem pieces of the burdock she had been working on into a pot of boiling water as Andrea went red.

"Look I don't care what you think of me. I don't care if you think I'm pond scum. Your opinion don't mean shit to me. But do me a solid and don't gossip about me behind my back like a highschooler. I outgrew that a long time ago."

The group was silent and tense for a long while until Carol looked up nervously. "You're a teacher, right?"

Linzie pulled over a dandelion plant and nodded. "Yep."

"How good are you at math?"

She shrugged. "I just about had enough math credits to have a minor in math."

Lori smiled. "Do you think you could teach the kids math and physics and maybe some science? We have textbooks and all that, but I'm not sure how much longer I can teach Carl."

Linzie squinted at her suspiciously and Carol nodded. "Never was all that good at math anyway."

"You want me to teach your kids?"

Lori nodded. "You seem pretty good with kids…"

"What about Bobby? He's an engineer, too you know."

Carol nodded. "If you don't feel comfortable doin' it, we'll ask him, but I personally think you're a better choice."

"You aren't afraid that I'll like corrupt your children or somethan?"

Carol shook her head. "Just try not to cuss around them or anything."

* * *

Linzie flipped through the book, then set it off to the side. "Okie dokie. What have you guys done so far."

Lori hmmed. "Addition, subtraction, division and multiplication."

"Have you guys done order of operations? Or fractions?" Half of the kids bobbed their heads and she smiled. "Okay let's do fractions first, get everyone up to speed. When you added or subtracted fractions, what did you do?"

Carl raised his hands. "You have to make them the same."

"The same?"

He nodded his head. "The bottom number has to be the same on both fractions."

Linzie smiled. "Correct! Okay…" She jotted down a quick fraction addition problem and a subtraction problem. "Okay so what does 2 over 2 equal?"

They thought about that for a second and Sophia timidly raised her hand. "1?"

"Right! How about 4 over 4?"

"1!" They screamed in unison.

"Man, y'all are geniuses!" She pointed at the addition problem. "Okay, so the easiest, sure-fire way to make these bottom numbers the same is to multiply this bottom number, called a denominator, by the other denominator and then multiple that second denominator by the first. Does that make sense?"

They nodded uncertainly and she smiled. "Don't worry I'll show you. Okay, now the only problem is: if we multiply only the bottom number, the fraction won't be the same. So we have to multiply both the bottom and the top number by the same number. Okay?" The bobbed their heads again. "We have ¾ plus ⅚. We are going to multiply both the top and bottom, the 3 and the 4 by 6. What is 3 times 6?"

"18!" Louis chirped.

"Perfect. And what is 4 times 6?"

"20!"

Linzie shook her head. "Almost… what is 6 times 2?"

"12…" Carl ventured.

"Right. What is 12 times 2?"

"24."

"So what is 6 times 4?"

"24!"

"Geniuses, I tell ya." She smiled. "So we converted ¾ into 18/24. Now we are going to do the same to ⅚. We are going to multiply the five and the six by…?"

"4!"

"Perfect! What is 5 times 4?"

"20!"

"And 6 times 4?"

"24!"

"So now ⅚ is 20/24. Now the bottom numbers are the same, so we can just add them. What is 20 plus 18?"

"38!"

Linzie laughed and smiled. "So what the answer to ¾ plus ⅚?"

Eliza hesitated. "38/24?"

"Yep. Why don't we add the bottom numbers?"

"Because…." Louis looked at his sister.

"Because these numbers represent parts of whole numbers, right? The bottom number just tells you how many parts you need to make a whole."

"Ladybird."

She looked up and smiled at Daryl. "Yep."

"They're havin' that meetin' about the supply run into 'lanta." He jerked his head toward the big fire pit.

She frowned. "Now? They weren't supposed to do that until this afternoon."

He jerked his head again and started back towards the fire pit. She smiled down at the kids. "Why don't y'all do you history homework for a while? I'll be back in a bit."

They nodded and opened a different book, watching the adults approach the main fire pit out of the corner of their eyes.

Linzie whistled for Cooper and approached the small, steadily growing group at Daryl's side.

Linzie sat in her camp chair while Daryl stood behind her next to Merle.

Shane swaggered to the front of the small group. "We need to make a supply run."

Glenn nodded. "I'll go, just get me a list."

Shane shook his head. "Nah...man, I'd feel better knowing that you had some fire-power with you. You said last time that you nearly got cornered. 'Sides we need to bring back as much as possible. We're running low on everything."

Andrea stepped up. "I'll go."

Shane huffed. "Now, Andrea...we've talked-"

"No, you talked about this. I want to _help._ You can't stop me."

Amy stood behind her. "Andrea, don't."

"I'm going. It's done."

Linzie chuckled. "You ever shot that pea shooter you got?"

Andrea shook her head stiffly. "I'm going to have to learn sometime, right?"

"Wrong." Linzie leaned forward in her seat. "You need training. A supply run into the bowels of walker Hell is not the time to learn. That's how you get people killed."

Andrea huffed and Morales and T-Dog stood. "We'll go."

Shane turned from Andrea. "Good. Three men. Small group, you can watch each other's backs."

"I'm going, too."

Shane rolled his eyes and turned to address Andrea.

"If'n Blondie's goin', I reckon I'll go, too."

Shane grit his teeth. "That mean you're goin' too, Daryl?"

Daryl shook his head. "Caught deer tracks last night. I'm goin' hunting."

"Linzie?"

"She's goin' wit' me."

* * *

"Linzie."

Linzie sighed and opened her eyes, staring up at Bobby. "Look, Bobby. I come up here to be alone."

He set his jaw. "I'm coming hunting with you and Daryl."

Laughing, she stood and brushed her pants off. "The hell you are. We won't git anything with you crashin' 'bout the fuckin' forest."

"I need to learn right?"

She rolled her eyes. "What don't you people git? It's the end of the fuckin' world. It is too damn late to learn new life skills. Instead of wastin' my time, why don't you find somethan you can do to help and git off ma back?"

"Look, you aren't going out into the woods with that backwoods, coked-up hick by yourself."

Taking a deep breath, she dropped her cigarette and stubbed out with her boot. "I will do as I damn well please, Bobby. You should remember that."

He held his hands up, frustrated. "Why won't you stop being so fucking stupid about this?"

"What's goin' on up there?"

Linzie looked over the ledge. "Nothin' I can't handle it, Dale."

Dale nodded. "I don't doubt that you can handle it, Linzie, but could you maybe handle it quieter. The kids are a bit too interested if you ask me."

Linzie chuckled and nodded. "You got it." She glared at Bobby. "Daryl and Merle are my friends. I _trust_ Daryl-"

"Not Merle?"

"I _trust _the Dixons. Whether you choose to is your business, stay outta mine."

She moved to walk past him and he grabbed her arm tightly. "Don't you walk away from me, bitch." He moved in close, whispering in her ear. "You fuckin' him? Is this hunting trip just some excuse for a booty call? Why do you put out for him and not for me?"

She shrugged him off. "Get your hands off of me. Have you lost your fool mind?" She shoved him away. "Touch me again, asshole, and I'll hang you out for a walker."

She stomped away, glancing up at Daryl who stood halfway up the walkway towards her smoking spot. She shook her head at him and continued back toward camp, throwing over her shoulder, "Don't bother, he has his head up his ass."

Bobby started down the path, still fuming and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Daryl.

Daryl stared at him for a show while, silently and turned back toward camp.

* * *

Linzie reassembled the shotgun and checked the sight. Loading it with with quick practiced movements, she closed the bolt and watched Daryl argue with Merle. She set the shotgun off to the side and checked the chamber on her revolver and began cleaning it.

Merle sauntered over. "You gonna let me take one of these guns with me, Ladybird?"

She smiled and eyed Daryl as he approached. "You gonna make sure you bring it back?"

Merle chuckled and grabbed the rifle she had just cleaned and settled it against his shoulder. "This is a nice piece."

"That was my daddy's. You ain't taking that one."

Merle shrugged and set it on the table. "Fair enough."

"I'll clean my Remington and you can take that." She finished the revolver and picked up a sleek, bolt-action rifle. She cleaned it and felt the bench dip as Daryl took a seat next to her. "What was that about?"

Daryl grunted and picked up one of the never ending pile of guns. He set to cleaning it and ignored the question.

Linzie nodded. "I see."

"What was your daddy like?"

She smiled quietly and loaded the rifle she was working on, setting it off to the side. "He was a good man. Loved cars and guns and me."

"What about ya ma?"

She shrugged, shoulder hunched. "She's pretty… Don't really know her well."

Daryl's brow furrowed. "Why?"

She leaned back against the picnic table behind her. "She didn't want me... ah'guess. Else ways my daddy and his parents raised me. I ain't never had anything to do with my mother or her family." She pulled out her cigarettes and offered one to Daryl. "I saw her lots...'round town. Only ever tried to talk to her once." She stood and puffed on her cigarette, starting to put the guns back in her gun bag.

"What happened?"

"She laughed. She took one look at my bucktoothed, freckled face and laughed her pretty blonde ass off. Then she turned to her fiance and told him she had never seen me before."


End file.
